Kitchen Mobility Aids For Arthritis Sufferers

Products For People with Arthritic Pain or Rheumatic Disease

Oct 16, 2009 Kathleen Duffy

Arthritic pain can make sufferers lack confidence in the kitchen. However, some mobility aids can help make kitchen tasks easier for those with arthritis symptoms.

People with arthritis can become very frustrated when trying to do the simplest things in the kitchen. Reaching into a cupboard, opening a jar, and even making a cup of tea can be a challenge. Thankfully there are various mobility aids on the market to help make life in the kitchen easier.

Here are just a few of the basic mobility aids to build on :

Mobility Aid for Making Tea or Coffee

Kettle Tipper- Making a cup of tea or coffee is probably the most important function of the kitchen.

Kettles can be heavy when wrists are aching. The kettle tipper is a stand which takes the weight of an electric kettle. The stand allows the user to pour out hot water into a cup by exerting gentle pressure but without lifting the kettle itself.

Mobility Aids for Opening Cans and Jars

Opening cans and jars can be a challenge for anyone! Even cans with ring pulls can prove difficult. There are a number of devices on the market to help make these tasks easier. They include:

A special hook and lever device for opening cans with ring-pulls;
A one touch electric can-opener and jar-opener which is ideal for those who only have the use of one hand or limited use of both;
Various types of ambidextrous can-openers which give the user a choice of hand;
Rubber ring grips for the lids of jars;
Devices which easily release the vacuum in a jar.
Alternatively, either free-standing, hand-held or wall-mounted electric can-opener would be useful.

Mobility Aids – Basic Food Preparation

Knives, Forks and Spoons – Ergonomically-angled knives, forks and spoons are designed with large moulded handles and shaped to make twisting the wrist less necessary when preparing food or eating.

There are also "Good Grip" chopping knives with chunky handles as well as large grip handles. Those who find chopping hard on the wrists will find "rocker" knives easier as they use a gentle back and forth movement.

Spike board to hold vegetables – a chopping board with spikes on to help stabilise the vegetables whilst you scrape them, as well as a clamp to hold vegetables in place. Use a slip-resistant mat under the board, or purchase a board with a slip-resistant bottom.

Pans – Some suggestions regarding the use of pans will make life in the kitchen safer and easier.

Try to avoid lifting hot pans of liquid. Instead, if the kitchen surface is level with the stove, slide the pan onto the surface. You may want to place a heat-resistant slip-proof mat down on the kitchen surface first
It is simple to fix a pan handle stabiliser to the front of the hob. This holds the pan handle secure making it possible for food to be stirred without holding the handle itself.
Use a wire basket in the pan when cooking vegetables. In this way hot food can be lifted from the pan and strained without moving the pan of hot water.
Ensure pan handles are made of light material with handles that don’t conduct the heat.

Mobility Aids – Taps, Electric Plugs and Knobs or Dials

Taps– Buy tap turners that slip over the existing kitchen taps. These have long handles making it easier to turn taps on and off and are a boon for those with arthritic pain in the hands and wrists.

Alternatively, install permanent lever taps which follow the same principle.

Electric Plugs – Sometimes even an electric plug can be difficult to pull our of its socket.

Buy stick-on plug grips which attach a larger grip to the original plug making it easier to pull out of the socket..
There is also a mobility device called a handiplug, which is an electric plug with a large grip which the fingers of the hand can go through to pull the plug from the socket.

Knobs or Dials– A contour grip can be fixed over the dials on all kitchen equipment such as cookers, washing machines, etc. It slips over the dial or knob and has a large finger grip holder.

This is just a very small selection of the mobility aids that are available to people suffering arthritic pain. Some can be found at good supermarkets, in Yellow Pages under Disability, or specialty shops online. Ensure that any items purchased come from a reputable supplier and reach the legal standards required.

These mobility aids can certainly make daily life more bearable for the arthritic sufferer.